# A Single Neuron Can Recognize a Person by Terrence J. Sejnowski > “In 2004 an epilepsy patient at the UCLA Medical Center whose brain was being monitored to detect the origin of the seizures was shown a series of pictures of celebrities. Electrodes implanted into the memory centers of the patient's brain reported spikes in response to the photos. One of the neurons responded vigorously to several pictures of Jennifer Aniston, but not to other famous people. A neuron in another patient would only respond to pictures of Halle Berry, and even to her name, but not to pictures of Bill Clinton or Julia Roberts or the names of other famous people.” > **— Terrence J. Sejnowski**, *2014, Edge Annual Question, “What Scientific Idea Is Ready For Retirement?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Grandmother Cells](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/25325) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2014 Annual Question collection, *WHAT SCIENTIFIC IDEA IS READY FOR RETIREMENT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2014 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2014 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Article:** [[articles/2026 Annual Report on Brain-Computer Interfaces|2026 BCI Report]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Next Interface Layer|Next Interface Layer]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture|Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture|Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture]] - [[wiki/Brain-Computer Interfaces|Brain-Computer Interfaces]] - [[wiki/Human-Machine Symbiosis|Human-Machine Symbiosis]] - [[wiki/Neural Interface|Neural Interface]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “In 2004 an epilepsy patient at the UCLA Medical Center whose brain was being monitored to detect the origin of the seizures was shown a series of pictures of celebrities. Electrodes implanted into the memory centers of the patient's brain reported spikes in response to the photos. One of the neurons responded vigorously to several pictures of Jennifer Aniston, but not to other famous people. A neuron in another patient would only respond to pictures of Halle Berry, and even to her name, but not to pictures of Bill Clinton or Julia Roberts or the names of other famous people.” — Terrence J. Sejnowski, 2014, Edge Annual Question, “What Scientific Idea Is Ready For Retirement?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-terrence-sejnowski-single-neuron-recognize-person ```